Cardiac troponins (cTn) are a type of protein that can only be found in the muscle of the heart. When the heart gets injured, it lets them out into the circulatory system. Blood tests for troponin are usually done on people who are thought to have had a heart attack. If your amounts are higher than usual, it could be a sign of a heart attack.
Studies, however, have shown that a lot of people have high amounts of cTns even if they don’t have heart problems. Other studies show that high amounts of cTns may be linked to a wide range of chronic diseases that affect people of all ages. Researchers recently looked at the link between the amount of cTn in the blood and death within two years. They found that patients with higher cTn levels were almost four times more likely to die within two years than patients with normal levels.
Understanding more about cTn’s possibility as a risk factor for death could help people come up with better health care plans. Dr. Robert Pilchik, board certified cardiologist with Manhattan Cardiology, looked into this study. Read the article.
